College Confidential’s “Dean,” Sally Rubenstone, put together 25 of her best tips. Get your free copy of the "25 Tips from the Dean" eBook and get helpful advice on how to choose a college, get in, and pay for it: http://goo.gl/9zDJTM

Women's Shoe Sizes Versus Girls' Shoe Sizes

I wear a women's size 5 1/2 and just realized that's the same as a girl's size 3 1/2. It seems to me I could get some reasonably cute ballet slipper type shoes for much less money if I buy girls' sizes. Will a girl's shoe fit me the same as a woman's shoe? What am I missing?

When you first start shopping, try to buy in person. You will get an idea of which brands run true or narrow. Then you can start to buy online. I have a good friend who is a woman's 5 or 5 1/2 and she buys girls shoes ALL THE TIME.

My daughters and I wear a size 5 1/2 women's shoe - and we always check out the girls' shoes. We wear a 3 1/2 or 4 shoe in the girls' department. We own lots of girls' flats and sandals and a few sneakers. Price is great and the shoes tend to last. Target always has good girls' shoes - inexpensive, indestructible, fun. To us - being able to dip into the girls' shoe department is one of the major advantages of having small feet. Enjoy!

I've worked in a children's shoe store and the rule of thumb is 1.5 size difference. A 3 should fit a 4.5 woman, but it depends on the shoe and the maker. Some children's shoes go up to a 5 child, meaning 6.5 womens. It's a good way to get shoes for less if you have smaller feet. Uggs, Keens, etc. look about the same. Many ballet flats or casual shoes will not fit quite right because childrens sizes are not always very narrow in the heel and adults usually need it.

You all have better results than me. I wear a 6. A 5.5 wide would actually be better, but those are extremely difficult to find. There was a previous thread on "have shoe sizes gotten larger?" and I've recently that to be true. I swim in some 6's now.

My rule of thumb has been there is a 2 size difference between kids and adults--e.g. I wear a 4. I like professional, conservative dress shoes for work and finding them is a nightmare. I suppose ballet flat types would be more easily available in girls' sizing, but I find most of girls' sized shoes too "cutesy".

VH: the European size chart is supposed to be universal, so go with your Euro size (e.g., 36). However, some designers, like Gucci, price shoes in sizes bigger than 33 as adult shoes, i.e. a girl wearing size 36 would have to shop in the women's shoe section of a Gucci store. Bummer. :)

Prada and Burberry make girls' shoes, too. Per Saks website, some Prada girls' boots are available in size 37 (US ladies' 5.5-6).

I found a cute pair of shoes on Zappos and ordered them in three sizes. Figured one of the sizes would work. While the largest size fit, the shoes were definitely not "grown-up lady's shoes." The style was one that is flat and has a rounded toe -- here: Nina Kids Chainy (Youth) Fudge - Zappos.com Free Shipping BOTH Ways -- in reality the toe was very wide and stumpy and did not look sophisticated at all. I returned all three sizes. I think that if I order girls' sizes again, I'll stick to bedroom slippers and boots.

Helpful Links

About College Confidential

Welcome to the leading college-bound community on the Web!

Here you'll find hundreds of pages of articles about choosing a college, getting into the college you want, how to pay for it, and much more. You'll also find the Web's busiest discussion community related to college admissions, and our CampusVibe section!About Us